Lots of people think that we are taking too many pharmaceutical products and it certainly is true that we are taking more than we ever have done before in history. Our generation has forgotten lots of the natural solutions that our grandparents (or even further back) took for normal
On the other hand, lots of the pharmaceutical remedies on the market are manufactured from natural items such as plants, but are more highly concentrated. A pharmacist also has access to plants from other continents and can mix plant extracts to improve the efficacy of the final product.
Despite all that, lots of people still believe that we have gone too far and should attempt to redress the balance at least a little. I live in Thailand now and a day does not pass that my wife says something like: ‘Old people eat this for medicine. Old style cure for good blood’ - or good heart or beautiful skin.
I have no medical training so I am not authorized to say whether these old style solutions are any good or not, but I have collected a couple of them in this article out of interest and if you find them worthy of note too, you could do some more research yourself.
You can buy most of these ingredients and ask for more information from health food shops and if you like the effects, you could attempt to cultivate them in your garden.
Zinc or at least products containing zinc are believed to cure colds. Zinc is easily obtained from quality chocolate, watermelon seeds and sesame seeds, so next time you fancy a snack, try these instead.
Cranberries are famous for helping sort out urinary tract infections (UTI’s). Women suffer more from UTI’s than men, so it would be worth having a bag or dried cranberries in the cabinet or a litre of unsweetened cranberry juice in the fridge.
Aloe Vera is universally known to cure skin problems and dried aloe vera is said to make a tea that lowers blood pressure. If the climate is correct, everyone ought to have a plant or two in the garden.
Garlic is known to benefit purify the blood and cut down on the risk of heart problems. I know lots of people who eat two or three raw small, hazelnut-sized bulbs of garlic a day.
St. John’s Wort is thought to cure depression, although you would have to research how the plant is prepared.
Citrus fruits such as oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit are good for curing the common cold, something that the pharmaceutical industry admits by making almost all of its cold cures taste of lemon.
White vinegar will alleviate feet soaked in it of foot rot, toe fungus, athletes’ foot and such like.
Cinnamon is an old, traditional remedy for high blood pressure and is simple to take on cakes and puddings. Cinnamon tea is delicious too.
Grape seeds are said to be a remedy for prostate concerns, although not prostate cancer.
Ginger tea is an old aid to digestion and banishes flatulence.
The list goes on and it just;y takes a little homework to find more time-honoured treatments.
Owen Jones, the writer of this piece, writes on a variety of subjects, but is now involved with natural cures for prostate cancer. If you want to know more go to What is the Treatment for Prostate Cancer?